Perseid

Contents

The Perseids are a highly advanced species, who thrived under the Commonwealth and whose members were indispensable to the efficient function of its institutions. The Perseids were hit particularly hard by the civil war and subsequent collapse. Accustomed to relying on the High Guard for defense and without strong martial traditions of their own, the Perseids became easy pickings for Magog swarm raids, Nietzschean bandits, and other opportunists. The result was a massive reverse exodus as Perseids from throughout the Known Worlds retreated to their ancestral homeworld of Ugroth. The "Great Ingathering," as it became known, bought temporary safety for the Perseids, but in a devastating blow to galactic civilization, countless worlds suddenly found themselves without their most capable administrators, scientists, and teachers. Indeed, many historians regard the Ingathering as one of the most important precipitating factors in the fall of the Long Night. So while a few Perseid settlements survive and even thrive on planets such as Xinti, Hamsa, and Sparborth, the vast majority of the Perseid people live on their once-scorned homeworld. Ugroth, once nearly abandoned as the Perseids spread out among the stars, is now home to nearly 150 billion Perseids, making it the most densely populated world in known space.

Perseids are striking, humanoid aliens found throughout the Commonwealth. Despite their black, featureless eyes and long bony chins, Perseids resemble Humans so closely that many believe that Humans are an offshoot of their race. Countless theories have been advanced throughout the ages to explain the kinship of the two species.

Perseids are hemaphrodites by nature, with each individual capable of both fertilizing another and gestating young itself. When wishing to reproduce, two Perseids typically form a temporary pair bond in which each individual impregnates the other. The pair stays together until the birth of the offspring, who are then turned over to the Perseid government for rearing and retain only a marginal connection to their biological parents.

On their native worlds, Perseids govern themselves via meritocracy. Their Overseers are individuals scientifically chosen for their vast knowledge and superior intellect, and the Perseids' strong bureaucratic skills make them highly efficient administrators for the Commonwealth government as well. Initially absorbed by the Vedran Empire, the Perseids soon made themselves so valuable to their conquerors that they achieved positions of power and influence even before the Great Reforms led to the Commonwealth's establishment.

They pride themselves on their titles more that their names, and the longer the title the better. They have titles for everything, from "Adjunct Superintendent of sub-section 0831", to titles for criminals even being common such as Master Criminal Hamsa.

While Perseids are considered by many, and often portrayed in Andromeda, as a weak, timid, mostly intellectual race, there is a proud history of their race as fighters. It was in fact the Perseid uprising against the old Vedran Empire that began the process of reform from Empire into Commonwealth, but only after the Perseids themselves were put down by the High Guard.

According to the commentary from an episode, the Perseids visited Earth thousands of years ago, and the ancient Egyptians tried to imitate their technology and social standing by putting the Perseids trademark elongated chin on their leaders and coffins.
Centuries later, the Perseids would sponsor Humanity's entry into the Systems Commonwealth. Apparently this was so fervent a partnership Dylan Hunt called Perseids "an important part of the rebuilding process" when he tried to restore the Commonwealth.